Amid Praise, Hope on Talks for Peace in Mideast

AMMAN, Jordan — In a strong signal that Israeli-Palestinian peace talks might soon be resumed, Arab League diplomats said Wednesday that the ideas proposed by Secretary of State John Kerry “lay the proper foundation to start the negotiations.”

The statement came on the eve of a meeting in Ramallah at which Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, is to confer with top Palestinian political leaders on the American initiative to renew the talks, which were last held in 2010.

Robert Danin, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Arab League statement served a “double function” by providing Mr. Abbas with “political cover to back off his preconditions for resumed negotiations” while putting “Arab pressure on Abbas to re-enter those talks.”

Diana Buttu, a Palestinian-Israeli lawyer who had worked for Mr. Abbas on negotiations, saw the statement as all but a commitment by the Palestinian president to resume talks. “On this issue, the Arab League does not move without the consent of Palestine,” she explained. “Any statement that comes out of the Arab League with regard to Palestine is essentially a statement by Mahmoud Abbas.”

Still, Mr. Kerry acknowledged in a news conference that while gaps between the Israelis and the Palestinians had narrowed, differences remained.

Photo

Secretary of State John Kerry arrived at a palace in Amman on Wednesday for a meeting with Jordan’s king, Abdullah II.Credit
Pool photo by Mandel Ngan

The Israelis have steadfastly rejected Mr. Abbas’s preconditions that the Israelis release long-jailed Palestinians, freeze settlement construction and agree that the negotiations be based on the 1967 boundaries with land swaps.

So Mr. Kerry has pursued an approach that highlights new investment to generate jobs for the Palestinians and an effort by Gen. John R. Allen, the former American commander in Afghanistan, to define Israel’s security requirements if a two-state solution is achieved. General Allen has already conferred with the Israeli military on the issue and will soon travel to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian officials.

The statement issued by Arab League diplomats, which the United States sought to provide momentum for the Americans’ efforts, followed two meetings here between Mr. Kerry and Mr. Abbas and a presentation by Mr. Kerry on Wednesday to a committee of Arab League diplomats.

The secretary of state declined to provide details of his presentation, but in a statement the diplomats affirmed their “full support” for his efforts and said they hoped they would lead to “serious negotiations to address all final status issues, end the conflict and achieve a just and comprehensive peace.”

The Israeli prime minister’s office declined to discuss the Arab League statement, though a senior Israeli official, speaking on the condition that he not be identified because of the delicacy of the situation, welcomed it.

Still, this official cautioned, “The crucial meeting is tomorrow in Ramallah.”

A version of this article appears in print on July 18, 2013, on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Amid Praise, Hope on Talks For Peace In Mideast. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe